Brothers Grimm's Homeland by Kilian Schönberger

Something a little different to inspire you in fairy tale territory today: photos from the actual lands the Grimm tales originated, or perhaps a better description would be "adopted home" since the origins for each of the tales aren't so easily pinned down.

This series of photos from Germany and surrounding areas are by talented landscape photographer Kilian Schönberger. He's clearly aware of the influences of these landscapes on the Grimm tales and, in turn, the influence of the tales on these places as well. He even titled this particular set of photos "Brothers Grimm's Homeland". Although they capture even more remote locations than are usually associated with various Grimm tales (along the, now popular, Fairy Tale Road) and lend themselves to the less populated and town centered stories, it's still easy to see how the fairy tales we know and love grew out of these places.

It's more than just dark tree trunks, a few mountains and heavy, lingering fog that makes for a fairy tale. Clearly this landscape has inspired stories for centuries. Perhaps the emphasis might have been more on danger then, rather than the magic we see today but the land distinctly inspires that as well.

It's also easy to see Mr. Schönberger has a deep love of forests. I don't know about you but I have sometimes found myself ins what seems to be a magical landscape, pulled out my camera and tried to capture that feeling of being there - with little success. My photos often feel flat and small compared to the atmosphere-filled places I took them unless the light is perfect (and I get super lucky). Schönberger, however, obviously has a talent for capturing images that come close to reflecting what it actually feels like to be in some places. The mystery, magic and foreboding are all here in every shot, as, it feels are any number of characters just outside the frame with stories that are both familiar and not.

Interestingly, Mr. Schönberger has a unique "magic" of his own. He is colorblind, something that is a challenge for a visual artist yet he manages to turn his "curse" into a blessing.

I think colour blindness (I can't distinguish green from red, magenta from grey, violet from blue and so on) can be an advantage especially in forest environments. I don't have to separate singular colours visually and can totally concentrate on the structure for a convincing image composition. Forests are always quite chaotic places - therefore I think the structures are more important for a pleasant result than the colours. (Schönberger from an interview with seamlessphoto)

While he does rely on feedback to make sure no colors within his shot disturb his composition, it would seem from his beautiful results that he's found a great way to work with his limitations and discover more in making his art than perhaps other photographers might.

As I was first putting together this post I initially wrote my impressions of tales that came to mind on viewing different images but realized the more I looked, the more tales resonated in my head, so I will let you see your own tales in each one instead. Perhaps you might even be inspired to tell your own.

Mr. Schönberger's main website  - with beautiful galleries of more magical places filled with tales and, conversely, landscapes fairy tales are full of - can be found HERE.

Art: Zan von Zed's Fairy Tale Femmes

"East of the Sun, West of the Moon"

A new artist discovery (for me) this year is Australian artist Zan von Zed, who's angularly featured and swan-necked ladies definitely have a fairy-tale-with-a-twist feel to them.

"Darling It's Better.." (Little Mermaid - on wood)

She mainly works in pencil but also in oil, watercolor and enhances some pencil with digital as well.

"Frog Prince"

While Ms. Zed has a number of online homes she hasn't offered up very much about herself, her influences (other than that she likes turtles) or art education. She is, however, very generous with her video tutorials/behind-the-scenes and takes the time to respond to most questions on her Facebook and Instagram accounts (links listed below).

Snow White's Stepmother
(I'm guessing, but I'm also not the only one who thinks this -BTW this is "just a sketch"!)

I'm including a few extra illustrations that, although aren't specific tales, still feel like they belong in one.

Looks like a Russian (snow) fairy tale

Officially this is "A Time Before Pants" but I'm thinking Mary Queen of Scots
(A castle crown - how great is that?)

This reminds me of Janet from Tam Lin (though it might just be Mary pre-Queen of Scots)
I'd love to see this finished

Amazing and beautiful, classic yet modern, the faces say so much without extreme expressions and those hands..! More please. Especially fairy tale - more fairy tales please!

Zan von Zed's art - and products and prints - can be found in the following places:

• Society 6
• Instagram
• Facebook
• Pinterest
• Behance

Once again - do stop by Behance and click "Appreciate This" or drop a comment on her Facebook page or Instagram. Let's keep this artist working and hopefully we'll see a series of illustrations on a tale in the future. *crosses fingers*

Google is Celebrating American Folklorist, Zora Neale Hurston's Birthday Today

Google pays tribute to an African-American folklorist Zora Neale Hurston today (and I finally added her to my board of Influential Fairy Tale People as well). She was a fascinating woman who found herself overlapping in disciplines and fields of study, both in anthropology and the Arts. While it would seem anyone who dips a serious toe into the waters of fairy tale and folklore tend to do this, Ms. Hurston did this, not only with a subject that hadn't received too much serious scholarly attention till then (the subject of black American folklore), but particularly during a time in which black culture in the US was undergoing serious cultural and political changes (20's to the 50's).

I just love this brief selection of anecdotes regarding her work as it describes so much of her drive, her work and how far ahead of her time she was in her research (from the Kislak Foundation):

In 1927 a wealthy patron, Charlotte L. Mason of New York, gave Hurston a car, a camera and $200 a month to travel throughout the American South and record the folklife and lore of the people she encountered. She explored Florida, Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi, and gathered hundreds of folk tales, most still unpublished. The tales have been described as a "cultural window into how people lived." 

She continued her writing and research, traveling to Jamaica, Bermuda, Honduras and Haiti. In Haiti, she studied voodoo and collected Caribbean folklore that was anthologized in her book, Tell My Horse, published in 1937. The title came from Haitian Voodoo ceremonies, where a person possessed by a spirit is ridden like a horse by the spirit. The spirit speaks through the person, the horse being ridden, and may say, "Tell my horse..." She also wrote about zombie beliefs and the idea that there was a poison that certain Bokors (Voodoo Priests) knew about that produced a deathlike state in recipients. In her autobiography Dust Tracks on a Road (1942) she wrote:

What is more, if science ever gets to the bottom of Voodoo in Haiti and Africa, it will be found that some important medical secrets, still unknown to medical science, give it its power, rather than gestures of ceremony.

Almost 50 years later her theory was scientifically confirmed.

Although it has taken a while for her work to be properly recognized for a number of reasons she's had a lot of posthumous recognition and in 2002 was named in the list of Greatest 100 African Americans.

There are now a lot of resources available to read up on her life and work but to give you a brief overview (Google it!) but I'll post some quotes to get you started.

From Mules and Men, the book Roger D. Abrahams called "Simply the most exciting book on black folklore and culture I have ever read", here's the publishers blurb:

Mules and Men is the first great collection of black America's folk world. In the 1930's, Zora Neale Hurston returned to her "native village" of Eatonville, Florida to record the oral histories, sermons and songs, dating back to the time of slavery, which she remembered hearing as a child. In her quest, she found herself and her history throughout these highly metaphorical folk-tales, "big old lies," and the lyrical language of song. With this collection, Zora Neale Hurston has come to reveal'and preserve'a beautiful and important part of American culture.

Regarding her work with folklore, here are a couple of excerpts from Wikipedia:

By the mid-1930s, Hurston had published several short stories and the critically acclaimed Mules and Men (1935), a groundbreaking work of "literary anthropology" documenting African-American folklore. In 1930, she also collaborated with Langston Hughes on Mule Bone: A Comedy of Negro Life in Three Acts, a play that was never finished, although it was published posthumously in 1991. 

In 1937, Hurston was awarded a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship to conduct ethnographic research in Jamaica and Haiti. Tell My Horse (1938) documents her account of her fieldwork studying African rituals in Jamaica and vodoun rituals in Haiti. Hurston also translated her anthropological work into the performing arts, and her folk revue, The Great Day premiered at the John Golden Theatre in New York in 1932. 

Hurston's first three novels were also published in the 1930s: Jonah's Gourd Vine (1934); Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937), written during her fieldwork in Haiti and considered her masterwork; and Moses, Man of the Mountain (1939). 

...Hurston's work slid into obscurity for decades, for a number of cultural and political reasons. 

Many readers objected to the representation of African-American dialect in Hurston's novels, given the racially charged history of dialect fiction in American literature. Her stylistic choices in terms of dialogue were influenced by her academic experiences. Thinking like a folklorist, Hurston strove to represent speech patterns of the period which she documented through ethnographic research. For example, a character in Jonah's Gourd Vine expresses herself in this manner: 

"Dat's a big ole resurrection lie, Ned. Uh slew-foot, drag-leg lie at dat, and Ah dare yuh tuh hit me too. You know Ahm uh fightin' dawg and mah hide is worth money. Hit me if you dare! Ah'll wash yo' tub uh 'gator guts and dat quick." 

...In 2001, Every Tongue Got to Confess was published posthumously. The book was a collection of field materials Hurston had gathered in the late 1920s to create her book Mules and Men. Originally entitled "Folktales from the Gulf States", filmmaker Kristy Andersen had discovered the previously unknown collection of folk tales while researching the Smithsonian archives when they were placed in computer catalogs in 1997.

I've included images of a number of her folkloric works in the post so you can keep an eye out for them in your travels.

Happy 123rd birthday Zora!

Thanks for all the stories.

Additional links: HERE, HERE & HERE

Ask Baba Yaga: "One Morning I Am Emboldened and On Fire, But the Next I Am Choking in the Smoke"

Baba Yaga (& creatures) from The Tale of the Firebird by Gennady Spirin

Possibly the most perfect advice post for New Years and all the resolutions we make - even if we swear we're not going to do that to ourselves yet again...

This week's question and answer (via poet and oracle Taisia Kitaiskaia* of The Hairpin):

(Originally posted at The Hairpin HERE)

This exchange in the comments says so much:

• How are these always SO GOOD? Is she actually a witch? (myeviltwin)
• @myeviltwin Theory: all good female poets are part witch (j-i-a)
• @j-i-a Ooh, I like that. Makes me extra glad I'm wearing my snake brooch today. (Cat Named Virtute)

Yes! The little things; "the paltriness of kindling". Reminds me of butterfly wing beats inciting monsoons... all I need is a good supply of kindling to take the initial steps of my (seeming daunting) journey this year. Thank you Baba!

What do you think of Baba Yaga's advice?

Want to ask Baba Yaga a question of your own?

You can!

There's now an email address where you can send your questions

directly to Baba Yaga herself.

AskBabaYaga AT gmail DOT com

To encourage Baba Yaga to continue imparting her no-bones-about-it wisdom (ok, there may be some gristle in there... bones too), I suggest we not to leave her box empty... 

Thank you Baba Yaga (& Taisia).

* Taisia Kitaiskaia is a poet, writer, and Michener Center for Writers fellow. Born in Russia and raised in America, she's had her poems and translations published in Narrative Magazine, Poetry International, and others.

Erstwhile 2 (Uncommon Fairy Tale Comics) Kickstarter Needs Your Help (And There's Only 3, 2.. Days To Go!)

I am doing a large "cut-n-'paste" type repost from Tumblr & Kickstarter in the interest of getting this news out ASAP because it just came to my attention that Erstwhile isn't close to reaching their goal to produce a second volume of lesser known fairy tale comics - even after the first volume was well received and reviewed.

So here goes the info:

An anthology series adapting six rare Grimm's Fairy Tales into comic form. Three artists, six complete stories!

(FTNH: Here's the Kickstarter promo video.)

ERSTWHILE is an anthology project adapting the lesser-known GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES. That means you won't be seeing the same old-same old when you open this book. The tales are not watered down versions, but the real deal. The dark stuff is not edited out for mass consumption, but it is illustrated in a tasteful way to make the comics suitable for both kids and adults. There are three artists on this collaborative project, Gina Biggs, Louisa Roy, and Elle Skinner. Each have their own distinctive style and each of these ladies takes a turn at illustrating one of the tales.

Those of you who are new to Erstwhile please feel free to read the ENTIRE series online for FREE! If you like what you see, come on back and support our kickstarter.

Erstwhile volume 2 is a FULL COLOR HARDCOVER book weighing in at 176 pages. Volume 2 contain six completed tales; Brother & Sister, Iron Hans, Snow White & Rose Red, Death of the Little Hen, Doctor Know-It-All, and The Worn-out Dancing Shoes (aka The 12 Dancing Princesses). Each volume of Erstwhile contains its own set of completed stories, so you can jump in at any time to enjoy. And if you want to get the first volume, we have that offered in our pledge levels as well!

Snow White & Rose Red introduces us to two sisters who are as different as night and day, but love each other dearly and always promise to share everything between them. Everything goes as planned until a kindly talking bear and an evil dwarf change their lives completely.

Brother & Sister tells the tale of two abused children who run away from home. Once alone in an enchanted forest the brother falls under a curse, transforming him into a wild creature, and the sister finds herself wooed by a king.

Iron Hans is a story of growing up. A young spoiled prince accidentally frees the wild man, Iron Hans, while selfishly trying to acquire his lost golden ball. He runs away from home, fearful of punishment, but once on his own finds both pride in his work and meaning to his life.

Death of the Little Hen follows the hilariously morbid tale of a Rooster and his selfish wife, Hen. The biggest nut on Nut Mountain is greedily gobbled up by Hen and leads to her death, but the tragedy only leads to more mayhem as Rooster and friends travel to the funeral.

Doctor Know-It-All is a man who knows everything, or at least appears that way. The poor farmer in disguise finds himself in over his head when a wealthy merchant hires him to discover the mystery behind the thefts in his household.

The Worn-out Dancing Shoes (aka The 12 Dancing Princesses) tells of twelve royal sisters who awake each morning with their shoes worn to shreds and their bodies worn to exhaustion. The king declares whomever solves the mystery will succeed him to the throne, but whomever fails will get the axe.

The first volume of Erstwhile included the following tales:

                        

   

If you'd like to read a non-affiliated write-up and review, please check out Heidi's posts over at the SurLaLune blog HERE.

We're all thrilled that the lesser known tales are getting some attention and that people are making an effort to bring them to the public again but being an independent group of artists they do need help to make it a reality. The artwork and writing is just about complete so it's not a matter of concern over the substance of the project at this point, so much as getting it properly published. If you're able, please consider sending some dollars their way and let's see how close we can get them to their goal.

Recipe For Forests

"Recipe for Forests"

A while back I posted a lovely photography series in which the subject/model "interacted" with illustrations drawn in white. After finding that - and falling in love with the style and idea - it didn't take me long to track down "Recipe for Forests" which also has a strong fairy tale feel to it.

While the previous fairy tales were by one artists this series is by a trio, namely:

Carlos Gutiérrez (Photography) 

Sebastián Rubiano (Illustration) 

Juliana Mira Restrepo (Styling)

A rough translation of the Spanish text is included below the corresponding pics. 

(Edit FTNH: This image is my favorite of the set.)

An underground stirring reveals the dreamlike beginnings of this place.
If I close my eyes, I can see them too.

This crimson air feeds the senses, reviving the pleasure of falling into inescapable inner worlds.

It reads like the opening to a story, doesn't it? I wish they had written more and created/produced more photos for the series. I want to see more of this recipe.

You can find the set on Behance HERE, which links to all three artists own personal portfolios. 

The trio also collaborated on another forest fantasy project, titled Blur, which some readers may like as well, though it's darker and has no illustration. You can find it HERE. There's an interesting fantastical-dream story that goes with Blur, which , though a little wordy is an interesting read too. Just hit your auto-translate. Being somewhat poetic, a Google-translated approximation still makes enough sense to read and feels magical.

Here's one of the pics to give you a taste:

From Blur, also by Gutiérrez, Rubiano & Restrepo

I think these artists are still developing (some extra attenion to focus, a better quality lens and more control of the lighting would knock this out of the park!), but their potnetial, especially as a team, is high and I'd be curious to see some newer forest-based work, especially with a male central figure. We need more fairy tale images with males that aren't knights! Perhaps they'll be inspired in the new year...

If you like this as much as I do, please go to the Behance page and click the "appreciate this". Unlike Facebook, you don't need an account to click the button and the sole function is to let the artists know as simply and quickly as possible that people like -and appreciate- their work. Let's encourage them to do more in this vein!